Motor Overheated and Disabled - [cracked coolant line]

[EdRudy]

Picked up a bottle of yellow coolant from Ford yesterday. It looked pretty green to me but it’s supposed to be the right product. There isn’t much room for the one gallon bottle to fit between the frunk shock and coolant reservoir without a funnel. So I used a small measuring cup. From MIN level to MAX took about 8 ounces. All topped off now.

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[GoodSam]

temperature reading bouncing between normal and overheating

I wonder if the motor temperature display goes back and forth between the separate sensors of the front and rear motors!

 

[COrocket]

The service notes say the coolant lines are frame mounted and that the high voltage battery and body mounts were removed to replace the lines.



Yes, I did check it before it was towed. I could not see any coolant in the reservoir (picture below).

I agree that a sensor should be present. It would be nice to get a coolant levels low warning to hopefully avoid a situation like what happened.

Definitely interesting that there isn’t a sensor. If I was an engineer I’d probably put one on the coolant reservoir before the windshield wiper fluid reservoir, based on criticality.

 

[lightningforum6]

I checked the coolant reservoir this weekend and it was nearly empty again. I bought some coolant and filled it to the line. It is slowly but surely leaking a little bit each day. Back to the shop it goes.

 

[Whammy Bar]

I checked the coolant reservoir this weekend and it was nearly empty again. I bought some coolant and filled it to the line. It is slowly but surely leaking a little bit each day. Back to the shop it goes.

Oh no.... the saga continues.

From what I gathered reading the thread... it looks like the volume in the reservoir is around 8oz from min to max lines. Roughly how long had it been since you last saw it at whatever level? Ever notice a puddle under the truck, or your front motor appear to be steam powered?

 

[lightningforum6]

Roughly how long had it been since you last saw it at whatever level?

It had only been 2.5 weeks since it was repaired and they refilled the coolant system. There was barely any coolant visible in the reservoir. I had to take the cap off and look into it to confirm that there was coolant and that it was not just the coloring of the plastic.

Ever notice a puddle under the truck, or your front motor appear to be steam powered?

There is occasionally liquid under the truck, but only right after it has been running. We have not seen a pool after it has been sitting. It is hard to tell if it is just condensation or if the liquid we have seen is the coolant.

 

[lightningforum6]

Got the truck back after the dealership had it for a few days. They pressure tested the coolant system for 6 hours, drained it, and refilled it. They were not able to find any leaks. They think it had an air bubble in it after it got fixed last time that caused the level to drop.

 

[jshalaby]

I read suggestions about checking the coolant levels in another thread, but have not had time to check yet. I will update once I am able to check it.

I was running around to some kid activities last night and all of a sudden the motor temperature gauge started to show that the motor was overheating. I was about halfway through a 25 mile drive. It kept bouncing between the normal midway point and being overheated for the remainder of the drive, even though the power was limited and I was going well below the speed limit to try to let the motor cool off. I got to my destination and the truck was able to sit for about an hour and a half before I needed to head back home with the kids. I was hoping that it was just a glitch, as I had run some errands around town earlier in the day and had no issue. I had also just gotten a software update notice for Ford Power-Up 4.2.4 during dinner.

On the drive back home, the temperature was holding steady at the midpoint for the first half of the drive and then it just shot up again out of nowhere. I stopped for a few minutes to let it cool back down and then limped it home through town. This time, in addition to the warnings that the motor and motor coolant were overheating and that power was limited, I also got messages that the front motor was disabled and that service was needed. The front motor reengaged and disabled a few times while I was driving through town at 10-15 miles/hour. Right as I pulled into the garage, the gauge went from orange to red.

I have included some of the messages that I received on the dash below.

I reached out to the local dealership this morning and they are saying that they cannot even look at it until late May. Some other dealers can look at it sooner (still probably a couple of days until they can look at it), but they are too far to drive to (about 25 miles) and I would need to get it towed to them. I have the extended warranty, so I should be able to get it towed in and get a loaner, but this is starting to look like it will be a big hassle. The dealership network for service is supposed to be one of the benefits of going with Ford, but it is not looking great so far.

@Ford Motor Company

I had nearly the same issue happened to me today where I went to my driveway to get in the car and before I even started driving it was already red on the engine and had the little temperature icon on the bottom right as you're showing in your picture. It cooled down when I drove around a little bit then I turned off the car came back to it in 15 minutes later and it seemed to be operating okay with no more warnings. This seems to be happening with a few people. I think Ford will have to take care of this as it's not an isolated incident.

 

[cwstnsko]

Got the truck back after the dealership had it for a few days. They pressure tested the coolant system for 6 hours, drained it, and refilled it. They were not able to find any leaks. They think it had an air bubble in it after it got fixed last time that caused the level to drop.

When I had some work done on my truck that involved the cooling system, it was weeks and many miles of driving before my coolant level stopped creeping down. Eventually, it stopped dropping and stabilized. It must be difficult to get the air bled out of the system.

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